Startling police commando raid at Merida restaurant nets one arrest

A group of more than 15 policemen with their faces covered with ski masks startled patrons at the restaurant and bar La Bierhaus, in Colonia Mexico, and with this display of force detained a person with a Mexican passport who according to witnesses, spoke “as a gringo.”

The abrupt arrival the night of Tuesday Oct. 18 of three trucks, apparently from the Goera Group of the Yucatan Ministry of State Security, was a surprise to all the guests and employees at La Bierhaus.

According to witnesses, the police arrived around 11:30 p.m. and entered the premises with long arms and shouts, threats and signs of arrogance as they prepared to arrest an unidentified person who had arrived at the scene less than an hour before and was chatting with other patrons.

The police outburst caught the attention of many people who came from the street to see what was happening inside. Some of the diners were subjected to threats and warnings from police not to oppose the operation or the unexpected arrest.

It is not known whether there is any relationship between these events, which caused the indignation of those present, and the arrest last Thursday of a group of seven people in a vehicle exiting from the Merida-Campeche highway. These individuals, who included two women, had in their possession an arsenal of high caliber weapons, and acording to different versions, could be part of a cell of organized crime trying to get a foothold in some Yucatecan cities.

There was no immediate official information on the identity of the individual arrested Tuesday night at La Bierhaus.